It was not until the mid-1800s that the world saw its first food made specifically for dogs when James Spratt concocted the first dog treat. Living in London at the time, he witnessed dogs around a shipyard eating scraps of discarded biscuits. Shortly thereafter he introduced his dog food, made up of wheat meals, vegetables and meat. By 1890 production had begun in the United States and became known as “Spratt's Patent Limited”. In later years, the dog biscuit was sometimes treated as synonymous with dog food. Today, dog treats are considered special types of dog food given as a reward, not as a staple food source.
A large percentage of homes have at least one pet, typically a dog or cat and such pets are often considered a “member of the family”. Consequently, dog owners, for example, often give their dog treats and purchase all kinds of pet toys for their dogs/pets to play with. Prior art products, however, do not effectively combine the two items.
Additionally, while officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Association of American Feed Control set standards for pet food ingredient safety, many dog foods and treats are not healthy for dogs. For example, a large percentage of prior art dog biscuits contain wheat as the first/major ingredient. We know that wheat contains high amounts of gluten and the digestive systems of dogs have not evolved to digest plant proteins such as gluten. Feeding dogs foods that contain too much gluten can result in many of the same problems that afflict humans who are sensitive to gluten.
Embodiments of the disclosed invention address at least the above described nutritional issues while combining a pet treat with a toy function.